Korean Job Discussion Forums

Tristan · Joined: 02 May 2008 Location: Seoul, South Korea

www.viewtifultristan.com

I want to write this article for people who are working with elementary school students and need some fresh ideas on how to control their classrooms. Even if you're not working with elementary school students you may find some of the tips here helpful by making the appropriate adjustments for their age levels.

I recently started my gig at Midong Elementary school near Seodaemun in Seoul. I haven't worked with this elementary students in over a year and felt pretty nervous about starting my new job. I would be replacing another English teacher - the only native English speaker who worked at that school - as his contract finished up. I decided it would be a good idea to come in and observe a class or two to see how things were running. The first class was a disaster. The students were running wild, some boys were dancing, others were fighting, some students were throwing things and almost all others were speaking in unacceptably loud tones. There were no punishments for coming late or forgetting to bring books or homework either. It really felt like total chaos. I knew from the moment I started observing the class that I would have to completely alter the discipline approach for the students.

I have a few policies before I start:

You should never have to raise you voice. If you do, it means you've lost control of the class and a new approach should be constructed.
You should never, EVER hit a student. Sadly I'm aware of many Korean and Native teachers who resort to some violence either on a small or harsher level to push students into submission.

I've been teaching at Midong Elementary for a week without ANY hitches whatsoever. No disrespect. No speaking Korean. No one even stands up or speaks out of turn without strict permission from me. Why? Because I've assumed total control of the classroom environment and strangely enough - they like it! So how can you go about doing the same? Here's a simple list that should enable you to take control of your class:

1.) As soon as the students come in separate the boys and girls into two lines. Do not allow them to sit together. Instead, sit them in a boy, girl, boy, girl arrangement that suits you. It keeps the boys out of arm's length from each other and keeps the girls out of each other's ears. It's also the best way to start the class in order to give them the subconscious impression that you're in charge.

2.) Keep the students awake by making your entire class a game. They'll learn more and enjoy it at the same time. Divide the students as evenly as possible into two teams. Give their teams funny names everyday like Apples and Bananas or Cats and Dogs. Reward their team with a star for good behavior and erase stars when they're not listening or speaking Korean. At the end of class give the winning team a reward such as game time or stickers.

3.) If the class gets loud tell everyone to clap 1 time, 2 times and 3 times and then make a motion like you're zipping your lips closed. Works every time...just be sure to lead into the next activity quickly to avoid any drawn out silences that students will use to start talking again.

4.) If a student asks for a bathroom break tell them it's fine but it will cost their team one star point. You want to avoid a mass exodus of students to the bathroom.

5.) If a student forgets his/her book or is late to class you can remove a hard earned sticker from his/her possession - I use stickers to give the teams an incentive to work together.

6.) If anyone speaks Korean hold your hand up to your ear and ask the opposite team if they could hear someone from the offending team speaking Korean. They will usually tell you the culprit. You should then say something like, "Oh, Johnny is speaking Korean. I guess Team Banana wants to lose a star." The kids will usually pressure their peers to speak English or stay silent. Peer pressure is FAR more affective than pressure from the teacher. Let them police the class for you and you'll also feel less stressed. By the way, ALWAYS erase a star when you've identified the person and then make the class repeat with you, "No speaking Korean in English class."

7.) Break up the monotony of class by suddenly issuing challenges like, "The first team that stands up gets one star" or "The first time to put their hands on their heads." It keeps them awake and the stays somewhat interesting. Of course the winning team gets a star. If you can't tell just give a star to the team that's lagging behind in order to keep them motivated enough to play harder.

8.) Turn everything into a challenge. Tell them the team that reads together with unity and loud voices will get a star or randomly ask students to close their books and give them a spelling quiz. Have the brave students stand up and spell the word to earn extra stars.

9.) Once in awhile you have a boy that just doesn't listen. If he keeps goofing off try a bit of baby humiliation. Today, as I was calling row, one boy would say "here" every time I called a girl's name. So, I said, "Wow! Are you Cathy? Are you a girl?" The whole class immediately turned in his direction as he began to shake his head. "Hey everybody, say hello to Cathy!" Of course everyone was laughing at him and I didn't hear a peep from him for the rest of the class. If it's worse pull out the "Monkey Chair" and put it in front of the class. Tell everyone that if you act like a monkey you get to sit in this chair with your hands on your head. Every time he removes his hands one team randomly loses a star. Once again, the class should pressure him into obedience. After 5 minutes, let him sit back at his seat.

10.) Always commend students who have done exceptionally good work privately. Once in a great while make it a point to congratulate them in front of class for their hard work. You don't want to overdo it. Keep everyone equal and on the same page and they'll have a much better time working together.

Hope that helps! Good luck with your classes!

chris_J2 · Joined: 17 Apr 2006 Location: From Brisbane, Au.

2 pitfalls to beware of, with the above.

1/ Make sure that students continue to stay in the same teams. I had the problem of defectors, who switched sides, when they realised their team was fighting a losing battle. Or better yet, try to match the ability of the 2 teams. eg 2 high level students in each team, 10 intermediates in each, & 6 low level students in each team. Not easy to do, in your first few weeks, as sometimes the high level students cannot be readily identified, as they sometimes misbehave the most, through sheer boredom.

2/ Place the stickers well out of reach of the students, or they will move them over to their team using a chair, to reach high when you're not looking!

Apart from that, some good ideas, which I'm willing to try out.

Mr. Pink · Joined: 21 Oct 2003 Location: China

AliciaJC · Joined: 10 May 2009

I used about 95% of these strategies while I was student teaching. These are excellent and I will continue to use them.

"The mass exodus to the bathroom" is true! kids will just go to the bathroom because their friend is there